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No sweat! Now the orchestra can play it cool

Lucy Bannerman

August 20 2015, 1:01am, The Times

The perspiration-proof concert is made from the same breathable fabric used by cyclistsLawrence K. Ho/Getty Images

Please don’t mention it over a Glyndebourne picnic but sometimes, whisper it, orchestra members sweat. So passionately and profusely do they perspire underneath that harsh stage lighting and those stiff, starchy collars, it is little wonder they call it “the pit”.

Cue the drum roll for the Gershwin tuxedo shirt by Coregami — a new form of orchestra attire that takes the same hi-tech, breathable fabric used by cyclists to make tops fit for the Proms.

The shirt is the brainchild of Kevin Yu, a violinist and businessman. He had the idea for perspiration-proof concert wear when he went for a run the day after a sizzling performance of Berlioz’s Symphonie Fantastique with the Las Colinas Symphony Orchestra in Texas.